Reviews of Chaminuka

Below are independent comments from 6 of our travellers who have visited Chaminuka, and have kindly agreed to share their thoughts.

They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.

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Review rating

Mr & Mrs L from Ilkley

Arrived on: 9-Jul-2014 Stayed for: 2 nights

Overall:

Average

Location:

Good

Rooms:

Poor

Service:

Good

Food:

Good

Activities:

Average

Facilities:

Average

Chaminuka review

The Lodge is ideally situated for a break following a long flight in a non-town environment. The staff were very helpful and the food was very good, although maintaining stock seemed to be a problem - for example no white wine available one evening.

The accommodation was fairly basic with the bathrooms in need of some considerable attention as they were poorly maintained and not clean with black mould on most of the walls.

We enjoyed a pleasant drive but don't expect anything natural as all the game you might see has been bought in as a stocked reserve. We were troubled by the caged lions and cheetahs apparently kept for 'educational purposes' but activities were offered such as walking with the cheetahs which we declined as we do not agree with animals being caged under these circumstances. The animals were clearly exhibiting stress behaviour and we were not convinced that the staff were adequately knowledgable about the health and welfare requirements of the animals under their care.

Sophisticated Lodge

A really beautiful place which exceeded our expectations by a long way. We had a lovely room with a balcony and a view over the lake - the sunrise was fantastic. The food is superb and it is nice to stay in a place where there are also Zambian guests. We had an excellent birding session with one of the guides and a nice game drive.

I wish we had booked two nights rather than just one; we could have spent a lot longer enjoying the art collection, the location and the food!

Very handy for the airport.

Public areas (bar, dining room etc) of very good standard, especially if interested in African art but rooms needed upgrading and looked slightly neglected. Exceptionally helpful restaurant manager - and overall good standard of food and drink.

The game facilities are definitely "safari lite" and overall OK for a couple of nights, but no longer. It is ideal for the early BA flight back to Heathrow.

David ? who met us at the airport and took us to and from Chaminuka could not have been more helpful.

We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.